New Start
by Turtlegirl13
Summary: Rating M to be safe, due to some major violence. Dakota is from a very unique orphanage that is run by an insane couple. She escapes with scares, mentally and physically, to start a new life. However, disaster strikes when the orphanage was burned to the ground, but a survivor brings Dakota a hopeful blessing of healing. (really really bad at summaries XD)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm back! I've got a bunch of stories in the making and I'm so excited to get them finished and posted. Let me know what ya'll think about this new story. : )**

Chapter 1

I stepped outside my small farmhouse, breathing in the crisp morning air. The sun was starting to rise giving the sky an orange hue as the wind blew gently. Smiling, I headed towards the pasture where my horse, Gatsby, was sticking his head out of his stall. Yeah, I'm a fan of the book "The Great Gatsby". I thought the movie was great too. Plus, Leonardo Dicaprio was perfect for the role of Jay Gatsby!

"Gatsby!" I called out to the Chestnut horse as I grabbed some hay. Tossing the hay into his stall, he dove for the pile munching on it happily. I laughed and patted his neck. "There you go, buddy. How about after I eat, we go to Casey's place?" Yeah, I know, I'm talking to a horse, but I live alone and it keeps me sane.

I'm living on this farmhouse by myself and without the help of Casey Jones and his fiancé, April O'Neil, I wouldn't be here. They helped my, financially, get the house and keep Gatsby. Originally, I lived in the town's foster home and they let us go wherever we wanted, well, the kids were. As for the rest of us, teenagers, we had to sneak out. Doesn't make any sense really, but their reasoning was that the kids wouldn't be hooligans in public. If they were, it was cute to everyone. Anyway, that's when I found this place. Gatsby was in the pasture grazing, but he was incredibly thin, due to the fact that a large portion of the grass was gone. So I snuck back into the foster home and started researching some places to get hay or oats for cheap. The workers there gave us an allowance for doing chores and I was saving it up. The next day I picked up some hay and fed Gatsby. Every day I would go and feed him, pet him, and started to take a fascination in drawing and photography. With permission, I started to sell my photos and made even more money. Casey and April were one of my customers and spoke to me about the house that Gatsby was at. I found out that it was abandoned, so they helped me buy it on my eighteenth birthday. I was able to leave the foster home because I aged out and now I'm paying April and Casey back for the house bit by bit and they're extremely lenient about it. If I don't have the money by the end of the week, they shrug it off. To top that off they pay for a majority of my supplies for Gatsby. I had to talk them out of buying me my own saddle. They are amazing people, so caring, and if they ever need me for anything I'll jump on it.

I walked back into the house and grabbed an apple before walking back out to Gatsby. I let his stall open, which was attached to the pasture. We both ate breakfast together as the sun snuck over the treetops. When he finished his hay, he trotted up to me for some attention. From the top of the fence, I put my hand on his nose and his warm breath brushed against my skin. He then pulled his nose back so he could rub his head against my leg. I scratched him between his ears.

"Ready to go?" I walked away to go get his bridle and Gatsby followed. After bridling up, I used the fence to swing myself onto him. Moving him up to a trot, we jumped and dodged all of the branches and obstacles of the woods. A few minutes later, I was traveling across Casey's yard. I tied Gatsby to the railing of the porch and knocked on the door. As I waited I looked around and noticed a large tank-like truck. Odd…

"Dakota!" Casey shouted as he punched my shoulder lightly.

"Hey, Case, how you doing?" I smiled.

"Good, good."

"Where's April?" I asked peeking over his shoulder.

"Uh, uh, she's out. You know, buying wedding stuff." Case shifted towards the spot I was looking at.

"Well, when she gets back tell her I was here. She wanted some pictures of you and her for the wedding. April still has to tell me when she wants them done."

"Uh y-yeah sure thing, DJ."

"Casey, are you okay?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Uh, yup, good, I'm good."

"Okay…" I scratched the back of my head then pointed at the tank. "You have guests?"

"Uh, nope."

"Well, cool car…I'm gonna head home then. Have April call me, okay?"

With that he slammed the door in my face. I was about to get back on Gatsby when a loud bang came from inside the house. After jumping about ten feet, I listened to see if Casey was just being Casey, aka the knucklehead tripped. Instead, I heard another voice arguing with Casey. He said he didn't have any guests. I knocked on the door again, and the yelling subsided.

Casey opened the door. "You need something?"

"I heard some voices inside, and I thought…never mind, I'll see you later." I turned and got on Gatsby before riding off. Well, then that was strange.

I let Gatsby loose in his pasture before going inside to clean up. It didn't take me long to finish up because literally my home was three main rooms; kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and the living room, which was connected to the kitchen. The rooms were all hardwood floors other than the bathroom, which was tile. So I swept, mopped, and dusted taking me past lunchtime. Still April hasn't called. Off to the boots, then. Sighing, I played my mix CD of all my favorite country songs and artists. "Break Up in a Small Town" by Sam Hunt started as I started cleaning my boots.

Singing and humming along to the song as I scrubbed my boots, I was cut off by my phone ringing. I sprayed my boots and lowered the music before answering. "Hello?"

"Hey, Kota, can we do our pictures without our ceremony clothes?" April asked.

"Yeah, whatever you like." I turned off my CD. "When do you want me to come over?"

"Well, we have time now."

"I'll be over in five." I hung up and pulled my boots on. With the weather still warm, I grabbed my camera and laptop before I headed for Casey's house once again. This time I left Gatsby in his pasture and walked through the woods. The sun shone through the branches of the trees and a smile spread across my face as the sun sprinkled on my face. This place was awesome. So peaceful, so mysterious, but then you step out of the woods and reality is back. I paused by Casey's farmhouse, taking a breath. I walked up to the door and knocked. Let's get to work.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Okay," I had my camera hanging off my neck, "how 'bout…this?" Instructing them to take each other's hands and looking into each other's eyes. "Okay, perfect." I started taking about fifteen photos at different angles and then I let them just act natural. "I have plenty of pictures, do you want to check them out?"

The couple smiled and led me inside. We sat around the table and I synced my camera up with the laptop. April and Casey looked at the pictures with smiles. They decided to stay in casual clothes, so the photos weren't "elegant", let's say. My personal favorite was the one where their foreheads are touching, eyes closed, and the sun is scattered over their faces from the trees. April has a delicate smile on her face, lightening her features. Casey was laughing making the corners of his eyes crinkle. I showed the chosen picture to the couple.

"I love it." April took the photo and showed Casey. He shrugged and she hit him. "It's perfect, thanks, Kota."

I smiled. "No problem." I left the pictures they wanted before heading to the door. "If there's anything you don't like, let me know."

"Do you want a ride?" Casey asked. "It's dark out."

I laughed. "I'll be okay, Casey, thanks."

He hesitated, but shut the door. With a short wave, I walked back home. The woods were almost pitch black and I struggled to dodge the roots. Trudging through the obstacles, I was getting annoyed. I just had to take my mind off of this, so I started singing. Now, I wasn't the best singer, but like many others, it was a comfort thing.

"'When you're weak, I'll be strong. When you let go, I'll hold on. When you need to cry, I swear that I'll be there to dry your eyes. When you feel lost and scared to death-'"

"You better be." A deep voice said from behind me, making me shut up and scramble back.

"W-who are you?" I stuttered.

"Honey, that's doesn't matter." He smirked as he ran towards me.

I still couldn't see well so the man was an unidentifiable figure, so I spun around and bolted. I heard the man's feet pounding on the ground, but then more echoed around me.

"Get back here, girl!" The man shouted.

I was about to shout back, but my foot caught on a root. Now I was sprawled out on the ground trying to pull myself back to my feet, but one of the thugs did that for me. Now, my feet were searching for the ground as I was held up by my neck. My hands clawed at the thug's grasp. His other buddies started shoving at me and punching me that I thought with a certain hit my neck was going to snap. Even as I felt my consciousness slip away, I tried to pull myself up. Air! I needed air!

"What the-" A man shouted before the sounds of struggle filled my ears and I was dropped.

My throat became sore as I rushed some oxygen back into my system, but that made everything else ache. A whimper escaped me as everything was quiet again. Four figures started to walk towards me and I instantly start to back away from them.

"We're here to help. April sent us." One voice said.

I stopped. "You know April?"

"April and Casey were worried about having you walk home by yourself." Another voice said, this one sounded like they had high authority.

I started to get up, but flinched.

"We should get her back to the house, dudes." A younger voice said.

"Let's go." Said the leader voice.

Before I knew it I was being lifted and carried away. I just held on tighter as the group quickened their pace. To my surprise, the ride wasn't bumpy. As odd as it sounds, it was like riding on a cloud. Still, that didn't make me loosen my grip around the man's neck.

"Leo, careful with her neck." One man said.

"Got it." The man holding me said as we approached the house.

Casey and April ran out of the house and Leo set me on my feet, which weren't that steady. Casey was next to me seconds later, helping me stand. When I went to look back at my saviors, they were gone. Huh?

"Come on, DJ, how about that ride?" Casey led me to his truck.

I nodded, but flinched at the soreness it caused. April was next to Casey and smiled sadly at me. "Sorry to say, but you're not going to be able to ride Gatsby with that bruising."

I groaned as I got in the red pick-up. Gatsby's gonna hate that. He needs to be ridden or else he's such a jerk. Once April got in, Casey drove off as my mind wandered to those heroes. Who were they? How did they know April and Casey? How'd they know where I was? No one was following me when I first started to head home.

"Who got me back?" I asked, but they didn't answer. "They said you sent them."

"They're just neighbors." April answered quickly.

"I wanted to thank them when I can, want, to move." I smiled.

"They don't stay at their home that much." Casey added. "They move around a lot."

I sighed and stared out the window. The attack flashed before my eyes. The panic, the darkness, the lack of oxygen, but then as my eyes struggled to focus, they appeared. The four shadows gliding towards me in a mystical way. The leader's eyes glowing color. They spoke not to hurt me, but to help. Then being carried like a fragile jewel. It made me smile. I shook my head. What was I thinking? I must've hit my head hard at some point. Casey pulled up to my house and helped me inside. Then April gave me strict instructions on how to care for my neck and ribs. After that they left, saying they would visit in the morning. Instead of going to bed, like I should, I went out to Gatsby. He met me with a snort and lowered his head waiting for me to pet him. I smiled and hopped on the fence, aggravating my neck, and stroked his face. Ruffling his forelock, then running my hand down the rest of his white stripe.

"What a day, Gatsby, what a day."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A few days later, my neck was still bruised, but I was able to move around without it aching terribly. I was still able to go to work, but I would cover the nasty bruises with makeup. No one suspected a thing. Other than that, I was back to my usual schedule. So after I got dressed, I went out to take care of Gatsby. After he and I ate, we would go for a ride. I've been taking it slow for a little while, just a lot of walking a short jogging transitions, but now I was itching for the old faster stuff. Settling myself on his back and gripping the reins tightly, I took a breath. Gatsby's head tilting slightly.

"I can do this." I told him. Immediately his head straightened out. "Ready?" I gave him a cluck sound and a squeeze with my legs, he took off, rearing slightly as he did. Just outside of his pasture, the fields stretched for miles, and that's where we ran. Allowing the illusion of the stretching miles create a dream that we could just runaway. My heart pounded along with Gat's hooves hitting the ground. I felt amazing, until a sharp pain struck me in my side. I cried out, and Gatsby slowed. "Whoa." He stopped, breathing heavily. His stomach puffing out making my legs swing slightly. I grasped my side and leaned my other hand on his neck. The pain turned to a slight throbbing, so I turned Gatsby around and we walked home. I let the reins hang loosely and he dropped his head, but suddenly he stopped and his head shot up. "What is it?"

I looked around, and saw nothing around us. Then I caught sight of someone in the trees on the border of the forest. My eyes connected with theirs. They were pretty far away that I couldn't make out who it was, but they seemed familiar. The man who saved me flashed before my eyes, and I shook my head. I'm going crazy. I sighed and pushed Gatsby into a jog. I had to get back before April and Casey did. Suddenly, Gatsby stopped again, but this time I saw someone in front of us by the house.

"Hello?" I shouted to the man.

Instead of an answer, he pulled up a gun and fired twice. I screamed as a sharp pain hit my leg and Gatsby started to fall. We collapsed to the ground with a loud thud and crack as Gatsby's weight pressed into my other leg. I grunted as I tried to pull myself out from under him, but he was too heavy. Gatsby wasn't moving other than the heavy panting. I stopped struggling and ignored the pain in my legs and looked at my horse. A bullet hole was in the center of his shoulder, blood oozed from the wound.

"Gatsby?" I shakily rested my hand below the wound. "No, please, no." With much effort, I fought back the tears that burned my eyes. "You're okay. You're not leaving me." One tear managed to slide down my face as I watched Gatsby struggle with each breath. With pain filled gaze met mine and that made me break down. "Don't leave me." I carefully wrapped my arm around his neck and buried my face in his mane. "Get up…get up."

"Dakota."

I gasped and found Casey, April, and four large turtles standing in front of me. April was the one who called me.

"He's okay…right, Gatsby? You'll be okay." I sobbed, knowing I didn't have the money to pay for the vet to care for him. "I can't lose him."

The turtles carefully lifted Gatsby enough for me to slip out. I pulled myself to Gatsby's head and put it on my lap, stroking his face. April was in front of me again.

"Donnie needs to check that bullet wound-"

"Does he know how to fix that on a horse?" I snapped.

"I was talking about you." She said in a soft voice.

I looked down at the matching wound on my leg. My blood was soaked through my jeans. "Please, April," I looked up at her, "take care of Gatsby first. You know how much he means to me."

She sighed. "Casey, do what you can for the horse. We'll get Kota back to the house."

"I'm staying here." I ordered, slightly taken from my tone. "I'm sorry."

"Let her stay." The blue masked turtle said.

I stared at him. That voice… "It was you four. You four saved me in the forest."

The purple masked one came up to me and started to look at my leg. "Yup, that was us."

I stared back at the turtle helping me. He sounded familiar too. Cringing, the turtle examined my leg. Casey was checking out Gatsby and I shifted slightly so I could look at him. His big brown eyes looked up at me, completely exhausted.

"Mikey, go get the first aid kit in the truck." The purple masked turtle ordered and the orange one ran towards Casey's truck.

"Casey, you can help him, right?" I begged.

"He'll be okay." April reassured me.

"I shouldn't have taken him out. I should've kept him in his stall until I recovered." I shoved my fists into my eyes. "I'm such an idiot." I mumbled.

"This wasn't something you could prevent, Dakota. You're leg actually block a fatal shot to Gatsby. The one he has isn't good, but he'll survive." The purple masked turtle told me. "It's almost a graze, actually."

Looking up at him, his eyes were sincere. I smiled and nodded. "Thanks."

Mikey came back with the kit and set it in-between the purple turtle and Casey. The two got started treating the wounds. I didn't notice, but my leg has a possible fracture…great…So when we were done being treated, I helped get Gatsby into his stall. After that I was brought inside, how I did that was basically someone carrying me inside. Guess who carried me…Leo. They haven't introduced themselves, but I remember his voice and one of the others calling him Leo. Everyone was in my small living room looking around after I was set down on the couch. April sat on the arm of the couch.

"Kota, do you have any questions?"

I shrugged.

She moved from the arm to squatting in front of me. Her finger went under my chin, lifting my gaze to her's. "You can tell me. No secrets, remember?"

"Who was that and what do they want with me?" I asked.

No one answered my question.

"We don't know yet." Leo answered.

"Okay, then how about what are your names?" I met his eyes.

"Leonardo." He nodded.

"Donatello." The purple turtle lifted his hand awkwardly. "Donnie for short."

"Michelangelo in the house!" The orange turtle shouted. "Dudette, call me Mikey."

I smiled then looked at the grumpy red masked reptile.

He rolled his eyes. "Raphael."

Casey tossed his arm around Raphael's neck in a friendly manner. "We've known these guys for forever."

"Yeah, when you came into the picture, they never stopped gushing about you." Raph shoved Casey with a laugh.

"You're like their unofficial adopted daughter." Mikey laughed, but I didn't.

"Mikey." April snapped.

"What?" He asked.

I frowned. "It's nothing."

"Doesn't sound like nothing." Raph huffed.

Those old wounds from the foster house started to throb. The many times I've tossed myself in front of the younger kids, taking their punishment for them.

"Just let it go, guys." Casey said and everyone was quiet.

"So, you guys have been talking about me?" I smiled at April and Casey.

They both smiled. "Of course, you are the daughter we never had. We are always telling the turtles all about you." April shrugged.

"Oh really? So they know me, but I have no clue who they are."

"Looks like we're due for us to get to know each other." Mikey smiled at me, wiggling his eyebrow ridges.

I blushed at Mikey and he started telling me about them. It was actually really cool hearing about all of the amazing adventures April and Casey were a part of. I would die for that type of lifestyle. Never having to live the same way day after day. Always having something new to look forward to.

"Don't get too excited, Kiddo, it's not as glorious as it sounds." Casey said.

"Yeah, we almost lost Leo, not too long ago." April said sadly.

"We've almost lost each one of these guys at least once." Casey clarified.

I glanced over at the turtles and they shrugged.

"Sometimes the calm life is a better one." Donnie said.

"Depends on the situation." I muttered.

They all waited…yay, story time.

"I've done the same thing over and over again for years. It's like being in a cage to me. I guess I'm just too curious about everything." I shrugged. "I was in a special orphanage. The couple in charge were into some weird stuff. Roleplaying actually. Unfortunately for us, their inspiration would come from the news. I tried to take the others' place, but I was never what they wanted. That's why it was kind of easy to get out and eventually, find Gatsby."

Mikey raised his hand. "What kind of news reports?"

"Not the pleasant ones." I kept it at that. Sure they never did anything that would kill them, but definitely they did things to damage them. Therefore, preventing them from being adopted because they were too strange. "I've always wanted to go back to try and steal the kids, open my own orphanage, so they never have to be afraid."

April's hand went over mine. "Kota, that's a nice thought, but even if we do get those kids out. There's nowhere to keep them and not enough money to support them."

I nodded.

"What if we all pitch in?" Mikey asked timidly.

"We'll still be charged for kidnapping." Donnie stated. "However, if we can get into the orphanage, get the evidence we need to prove what is happening. Then we may have a chance."

"The kids will just be transported to another orphanage, but no one will understand, truly understand, what they all went through." What we went through…


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Two out of the four turtles were crashed at my house, for security reasons. So when April and Casey left, Leo and Donnie stayed. Leo said he wanted to study the area and Donnie was here in case I mess up my injuries. My leg was wrapped and splinted. So as I lay in bed thinking about the day, I got changed into some pjs. This was the only time I saw those faint pink lines that decorated my abdomen. It was from one incident where a child was locked in a closet bound by their hands and feet. The neighbors had heard screaming and called the cops; they were too late. The child had a knife in his stomach. So the Heads of the place went to try it out on one of the kids and I got in the way. Like I said they never tried killing us, but injuries were given. I was tied up like that child, locked in a closet. They kept me in there for three days, and after that third day, three more but with food and water just out of my reach. I cried, sure, but quietly because I heard what happened when the child screamed. One night, I had a bad dream, making me scream. The Heads ran to the door, laughing like madmen, and sliced me with a knife. The cut was deep, but not deep enough to kill me. They slice at me every day, claiming a new spot of my body as their own. The orphan who was supposed to get this treatment would visit me every so often to stitch me up, aka she found large bandaids and hoped they work. That's probably why the Heads kept coming back, but I thanked the little girl every time.

She was young, about 5 years of age. She was small and malnourished; that was all I could ever make out of her appearance. Though, I remember her telling me her name was Kaia.

A knock at my door made me jump and pull my clothes on hastily. "Y-Yes?"

"It's Donnie. I just wanted to know if you needed any painkillers."

"No," I shook my head, "I'm okay."

I could picture him nodding behind the door. "Alright, let me know if you start feeling sore."

"Okay." I called to him and sighed when he was gone.

All I could do is sleep, right? I could check on Gatsby in the morning. So I laid down on my bed and closed my eyes. I think I did fall asleep, but there was a lot of tossing and turning so it felt like I didn't. When I looked at my clock, it was 4:00 and when I went to sleep it was 10:00. So I guess I did sleep a little. Yet, I was exhausted and wide awake all at the same time. So, I pulled myself out of bed and went through my usual schedule.

I went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth and hair, washed my face, and headed to the kitchen. In the living room, the turtles were sleeping on the floor. I still can't believe these guys were the ones who saved me. A small smile lit my face as I turned to go into the kitchen and grabbed an apple. After, I stepped into my boots, well it was a little difficult with the splinted leg, and limped over to Gatsby's stall. He was laying down by the wall, staring at the door. I smiled and went over to him sitting next to him.

"Hey buddy." I ran my hand across his cheek. "How are you feeling?"

He blew out his nose.

I smiled slightly. "I know, I hate this too."

Shifting around a little, I sat up against the wall. Gats put his head on my lap and I kept petting him until my eyes started to close.

(Leo POV)

I awoke to the sound of someone walking around the house. Usually, this would have me on my feet with my katanas in my hands ready to fight, but the steps had a limp. Dakota was probably getting some food from the kitchen, so I kept my eyes shut. After what happened the other day, she's going to want some alone time. So when she started to leave the kitchen I heard the front door shut. Sighing, I pulled myself off the floor. I don't like her leaving the house alone just yet. Moments later, I was following her outside and I'm not too surprised on where she went. I found her sitting on the ground with her back against the wall with her horse's head in her lap. Both of them were sleeping. I smiled and let the two be. Taking my post by the fence of the pasture, I watched over the two.

(Dakota's POV)

When I woke up, Gatsby was standing. His big brown eyes taking in my presence. I stroked his nose as I stood, leaving the barn. It warmed up a little and the sun was high in the sky. What time was it? How long was I out?

"How are you feeling?" Leonardo was leaning against one of the posts of the enclosure.

I shifted my weight onto my good leg. "Restraint." I shrugged. "I'm fine, nothing we can do until my leg is healed."

"True, but you should let Gatsby sleep." Leo's gaze soften slightly. "Let's head back towards the house."

I pouted.

"Will you show me some of your photos?" He asked.

I looked up at him with a smile a blush rose to my cheeks. "Y-yeah, sure."

We walked back towards the house and I got out my portfolio. I liked to take pictures of nature, but recently been taking up wedding photos. We went to the kitchen with my photos and I started up some tea. April told me he was a fan of tea and Donnie loved his coffee. So I started making both. While I waited for the water to boil for the tea, I sat at the table and watched as Leo looked through the pictures. His green eyes took in the photos. Oddly enough, the guy was attractive. I mean, those eyes so intense and welcoming all at the same time, he's mature and serious, and let's not forget those muscles. Appearance isn't much for me, but I'm a woman and I can appreciate a nice body. I felt my cheeks heat up as the thought buzzed in my mind.

"Where'd you take these?" Leo asked as he looked me in the eyes and pointed at the photo.

I mentally shook my head, and hoped he didn't see the color in my cheeks. "Um, in the woods, uh the um west end."

"They're really good." He smiled.

"Thanks." I knew that the betraying color was rising in my cheeks.

Luckily, the water started to boil, so I quickly answered the whistle. I got two cups and brought them over to the table with cream, sugar, and honey. I always liked to put everything in my tea. Leo didn't put anything other than a drop of honey as I set it in front of him.

"Why'd you start taking wedding photos?" Another question from my mutant hero.

I shrugged. "It was refreshing seeing happy people and capturing the moment is something of importance to."

"Not something you're accustomed to," Leo's gaze held mine again. "families being joined."

They were calculating, like he was trying to understand me. I nodded.

"Listen, we're not going to let anything happen to you."

I was a little disappointed he didn't just say he won't. What the hell was that? I smiled. "Thank you."

An uncomfortable silence strangled the, once relaxing, atmosphere, I tore through my mind for something to say. As if my unspoken plea was heard, April walked into the house. I greeted her with a small wave and a smile, but something was wrong. Her skin was pale and a frown dragged her face down. April kneeled in front of me and took my hands on my lap.

"Something happened." A tear rolled down her face.

Panic gripped around my heart as I rambled. "Gatsby's okay, right? I was just with him not too long ago."

"No, Dakota, no." Her hand gently stroked my cheek. "It's the orphanage. Someone set it to flames."

I felt the tears run down my face, but I didn't hear the screaming. However, inside I was screaming for the girl who kept me from giving up. The girl who's place I took in torture. My Kaia.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

April's arms were around me as sobs crashed through my body.

"When?" My voice cracked.

"Raph and Mikey went to check on them this morning. When they got there the building was ashes." April answered me in a quiet voice.

I sat up, looking her straight in the eyes. "Were there survivors?"

"They're searching now."

I got up and rushed towards the door, but was stopped by Leo. Staring past him, I stood still. They wouldn't let me go unless they knew.

"I need to know someone made it out alive."

"Raph and Mikey are on it. They'll let us know if they find anyone." Leo gently held me and led me to the couch.

"They won't find anyone. We're hot-wired to hide." I mumbled. "The orphans need someone they recognize; someone they trust."

"You need to stay here and rest." Donnie walked into the living room. "The guys can find anyone."

"Who are you hoping to find?" April asked.

"Her name's Kaia." My voice caught, "P-please, Kaia was the one the Heads always went after. She's the one who was supposed to be locked in that closet, but I took her place."

No one knew about the closet, but Leo somehow knew it wasn't good.

"We'll find her." Leo's gaze turned hard, but I knew it wasn't towards anyone here. "Donnie, stay here. I'm joining the others."

He then rushed out of the house without another word. April sat next to me quietly and Donnie went into the kitchen, most likely for the coffee that just finished brewing. That was the last thing I remembered before I was yanked into the dark corners of my mind. The rest of the world faded out as death bursted in. I couldn't see much, but the scent of blood was overcoming. Gagging and gasping, I ran rampant through the darkness for my light. The halls dripped with suffering as a soft glow illuminated beyond. I pushed myself faster to get to that glow. The small frail body was too skinny and too cold. Cradling the form in my arms, I held it close. I was too late.

"Kota?" Casey's voice brought me back to reality. "Hey kiddo."

I offered a small, weak smile.

"The guys found someone." Casey started and my attention immediately snapped to him. " A small girl. She has a few burns on her, but she's alive. Donnie was working on her a little while ago. She's scared."

"Is it Kaia?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Go ahead and find out."

With shaky legs, I stood and rushed towards my room. The door was slightly opened. I looked inside to find Leo sitting close to the bed. In the bed was a small figure, I entered the room and walked towards the small girl. Her left arm and the bottom right side of her face was wrapped in gauze. She whimpered. I took her right hand and rubbed my thumb along her small hand. More whimpers followed as she shook. It was a nightmare. We've all seen someone have one at the orphanage; some were violent some merely whines. The small hand tightened around mine.

"Kota…" She cried.

 _`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`Flashback`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`_

" _Thanks for saving me." The small girl put a bunch of band-aids on my wound. "My name is Kaia. What's yours?"_

 _I grimaced through every band-aid. "Dakota."_

" _D-d-d...Kota?"_

 _I smiled as the young girl struggled to say my name. "Yeah. Kota."_

 _`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-End Flashback`-`-`-`-`-`_

"Kaia?" I carefully held the girl close. "Kaia, it's me."

Hysteric sobs indicated her return to consciousness. I just held her and whispered to her that everything was going to be okay.

"I thought you died!" She shrieked.

"I'm okay." I nodded. "We're okay and no one is ever going to hurt you again."

"You promise?" Kaia hugged me.

"I promise." I lowered her back down into the bed and covered her with my blanket. "Now get some rest, okay?"

"Who are the green guys?" She glanced over at Leo who had moved over to the door during our reunion.

"They're friends, you'll meet them and more when you're feeling better."

"Will you stay with me?" She begged with her big brown eyes.

"Of course."

After she was fast asleep I joined the others downstairs. The room was being suffocated by anxiety and stress.

"Hey, was it her?" April rushed up to me, and hugged me briefly.

I nodded as I cried again. "I think I'm ready to tell the turtles the whole story."

April put her arm around me as I sat down.

Taking a calming, but shaky breath, I spoke. "So as all of you know, I came from the orphanage that burned to the ground. The two Heads are Yvonne Jasper and her husband Alister Jasper started the orphanage almost 30 years ago because they couldn't conceive. Yvonne thought that if she could help children in need that it would fill the hole of not being able to have her own."

"Well that doesn't sound like the people you spoke about." Raph shrugged.

"They were nice people at the start, but then they started trying to have their own again." I continued. "Obviously, none of her children made it. Though some of the teens thought that some of us were the Heads blood children. That was just a rumor though. What happened was she either would miscarry or had stillborns. Over and over she kept losing her babies, and it drove her insane. One day, she was making dinner for the dozen kids at the orphanage and a boy, around 16 years old, was bullying a younger girl. Yvonne had gotten so angry while cutting some food, she swung the knife back and cut the boy's face open. He survived, but this gave Yvonne a taste for drawing blood and Alister the chance to practice medicine. Oh yeah, Alister was a well-known doctor back before the orphanage, but lost his license. We never figured out how."

"So then they started looking to the news to harm the kids." Donnie concluded.

I nodded. "Yeah I was brought in as an infant, but by the time I was 5 they would point their practices towards me."

"What happened in the closet?" Leo asked.

"All of us, the orphans, would gather around the newspaper and read up on the crimes that have occurred so we can...prepare ourselves for what could possibly be our fate. We came across a story about a single mother who locked and tied up her little girl in a storage closet for almost a week without food or water. The neighbors had called the cops because they had heard the girl screaming, but when the cops showed up the girl was dead. Her mother had stabbed her and let her bleed out. Kaia was supposed to be that girl, but I had thrown a vase off the counter so they would choose me. This was my last year at the orphanage, so I figured if I could get through this I wouldn't have to do it again." I had to pause for a minute as the memories rushed back to me. "Um, so yeah, they tied me up and i didn't get any water or food for 3 days, then for the rest of the week they had my food and water just out of reach. Everyday they waited for someone and/or me to shout or scream, but no one peeped. Until one night I had a nightmare about the little girl from the article, and I woke up in a cold sweat. I was so scared that I was shouting and my fears were confirmed when I heard the Heads running down the steps. Alister held me still as Yvonne carved at my stomach. Yvonne wanted me to stay in the closet longer with my wounds, so they left me there. It wasn't long that Kaia had snuck into the closet with band-aids, but she stole those from Alister. That didn't go unpunished. The next night Yvonne had reopened my wounds. By the time they got bored of the story of the girl in the closet, my wounds were badly infected and I was bedridden for weeks. That's when I started to draw and take pictures. It was a week after I recovered that I found Gatsby and a month after that April and Casey helped me."

"Do you think that the Heads burned down the orphanage?" April suddenly asked.

"If that's the case, they may still be alive." Mikey stated the obvious.

"Then they'll be after me and if they find out Kaia made it, her too."

Dread engulfed the room in a suffocating grasp as we all hushed to a silence.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Kaia's been in recovery for almost a month now. She's warming up to everyone a little bit and is getting back to, what I'm imagining, her old self. Though the girl never leaves the house without either me or April, she'll settle with sitting in front of the door. At the orphanage, the kids her age weren't allowed to roam outside, so I could see why she stayed indoors. She had about two more years before she could wander outside of the orphanage. It was something new to her and it was scary. When I would take her out, she'd go see Gatsby. Gats and I are almost done recovering as well. A few things I've noticed about Kai is she loves the water and she's been hanging around Leo too.

When Kai would go for a bath, you could see all the stress leave her and the splashing would begin. During those long baths, Mikey's been making Kai a bed. He finished it a few days ago and Casey bought a mattress and a bed set. Noticing Kaia's love for water, he got her a Moana bed set. The gift was nice and she was ecstatic when she saw the finishing product. Life was finally starting to look bright for her, and she deserved it. Police have been searching the wreck of the orphanage and came to the conclusion that there were no survivors, and the orphanage never kept records. That allowed us to start completely fresh with Kai. In other words, she was staying with us. Though we were still keeping our eyes open for any traces of the Heads.

In other news, April and Casey's wedding was days away and everyone was buzzing with excitement. The R.S.V.P's for the invites have been received and we were going to be a full house. A lot of them were friends of the turtles and not that many of April and Casey's family were invited. They cared so much for the turtles that, on their special day, they did everything to make sure they could come. To me that was pretty amazing.

"Hey Dakota!" Casey waved to me from the barn. "Can you help me with something?"

I hopped off the fence and walked towards him. "Yeah, what do you need?"

"Can you help April with the decorations?" He looked nervous. "I-I, uh, gotta go check something with Raph."

"Um, sure. I'll get Kaia and head over." I shrugged.

"Thanks, I'll drive you over."

I collected Kaia from the pasture and loaded up into Casey's truck. The ride was definitely awkward. Luckily, he had the radio on, so we didn't have to sit in complete silence. I wonder what him and Raph were doing, but it wasn't any of my business. I stared out the window and zoned out. It wasn't until the truck pulled to a stop that I came back to this world. Sighing, I hopped out of the truck and helped Kaia out. Casey was already on the main road by the time we turned around to thank him. So I let Kaia follow me as I met up with April.

"So Casey sent you here to help me?" April smiled.

I nodded. "Yeah, anything I can do for?"

"Start setting up the chairs. That'll help a ton." She motioned towards the stacks of chairs.

"On it." I smiled and walked over to get to work.

"I'll send Leo to help you." She called after me as she left the barn.

My cheeks turned red. "Oh, I don't need-"

"These chairs look heavy." Leo interrupted me.

I turned to face him, and prayed my face wasn't red. "Nothing I can't handle."

There was a moment of silence.

"How are you doing?" His voice was quiet and gentle.

"I'm good." I answered. "Happy to be able to move around again."

"And Kaia?"

I smiled a little. "She's doing good, better than I expected."

"You think she'll be okay at the wedding with all of the people?" He asked as we started setting the chairs.

"We'll just have to see." I shrugged and moved to the other side of the room.

I stayed focus on the task at hand and Leo stopped talking too. Every once in awhile, I'd steal a glance over at him. Carefully, I watched as Leo would pick up the chair, his muscles would bulge. Oh god, he was fit. It doesn't help that he doesn't wear clothes, leaving me even more to look at. I tore my eyes away. Stop! He's not into you! You have too many problems, so many scars. No, stop. I frowned and turned away. No one will like you. My heart hurt. The idea of being alone scared me, ironic I used to live alone before Kaia came around, but I did have Gatsby. I felt my emotions bubble up, but I fought them back and the burning in my eyes didn't have a chance to bother me. My face stoic, I went back to setting up the chairs.

"Kota!" Kaia called me.

The small girl ran towards me, frantic. I knelt down and tried to calm her down; she was crying.

"What's wrong?"

"There's someone outside." She pointed. "I was scared."

I stroked her face. "It's okay, stay with Leo."

She hurried over to Leo and hid behind him. I nodded to him and went out to check who was outside. Turned out there wasn't anyone, I looked around for signs of anyone being in the area. So, I turned to leave. I kind of expected this, but there were two guys with guns standing behind me. I put my hands up in the air.

"Don't have your friends to help you out here." The short guy on the left smirked.

"Get her." The one on the right ordered and two more grabbed my arms, retraining me. Then the one on the right in front of me walked towards me. He punched me hard.

I doubled over, but was pulled back up.

"That was my brother, they sent to the hospital." He hit me again.

I cried out this time. "Stop!"

"Or what?" He challenged and this time slapped me across the face.

A tear spilled over my cheeks.

"You'll pay for what they did." This time I saw a knife.

My head bowed, I'll just add it to the collection. I waited for the burning, and when it came I was dropped. Looking up, I saw Leo fighting the group, leaving one to flee with his unconscious group. Then rushed to me. My hand was over the wound on my stomach. It wasn't deep, but it was bleeding.

"May I?" He asked and I nodded. Gently, he moved my hand away and examined the cut. "Not deep. Let's get you inside."

He helped me up and we went inside with Kaia on our heels.

"Kota, are you okay?" She asked as Leo got Donnie.

I straightened up and lifted my shirt so Donnie could do what he needed to. He cleaned and treated my injury. I saw Leo frown when my scars were revealed, and left to take care of the unconscious men outside. Right after, I pulled my shirt back down.

"Can you keep an eye on Kai?" I asked and quickly left.

I walk as far as I could away from the house before stopping and screaming. Frustration, hurt, and worry rushed out of me in a long shouted. The universe was out to get me and now I had Kaia. I can't risk it hurting her. I know I'm not alone, but I feel it. I feel so alone! With these feelings for Leo boiling up, it makes it worse. He'll reject me, and I know it. After my fit was slowly making it's way out of my system, I headed back. Casey and April were back at the house feeding Kaia. Walking up to the door, I prepared for all of the questions.

"Dakota." Leo appeared from around the house.

I jumped. "Sorry, I was out late."

"What's going on?" Leo asked.

I shook my head and crossed my arms. "It's nothing."

Leo blocked the door, not saying a word. Letting my arms drop to my side, I sat on the stairs. I kept my face hidden from the ninjistu master. He sat down next to me, but didn't say anything. I sighed and ran my hands through my hair.

"What were you doing out there?" He finally asked.

I shook my head. "Nothing."

He nodded. "Fine, I won't push you to talk. Kaia is sleeping inside. April said you two can stay the night."

And with that, he let me go. I went inside and found Kaia sleeping on the couch with April. Where everyone else was, I didn't know. Grabbing the extra throw blanket from the couch, I curled up on the floor and went to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The next morning, I felt calmer and in a better mood. I was way out of line last night it, kind of embarrassed me. Getting up and returning the blanket, I went to look for Leo. It wasn't difficult to find him either. He was training a little ways from the house. He stopped when I approached.

"Morning." He sheathed his blades.

I offered a weak smile. "Listen I'm sorry about yesterday, it was way out of character for me. I've just been feeling so overwhelmed lately."

"I understand, but don't forget there are other people, too ,mixed in this." Leo reminded me.

I nodded. "That's the reason for my apology."

"Well, you're forgiven."

"Thanks. Really takes a weight off my shoulders." I answered slightly sarcastically. I knew there were other people involved but this is a lot for me. Forcing myself to stand tall, I went to walk away.

"Listen." Leo stopped me. "I know you've been through alot and are now going through some more, but there's no need to do it yourself, alone. There are people here who care about you."

"And what about you?" I asked before I could think. "I'm sorry that was weird." I laughed in embarrassment and hid my face.

"I care too."

I looked up at him. "Just like everyone else here."

There was a moment of hesitation. "Yes."

With a nod, I left to find April. Everything has to be perfect for her today. All of my problems have to be put to the side on the burner. Those issues included my current feelings towards a specific individual. Besides they were leaving after the wedding, and I don't have enough time for a relationship. Like I said this day was about April and Casey's relationship. Finally I found April, she was outside on the porch steps, sitting. I lingered by the door.

"Mind if I join you?" I asked.

"No, I need to talk to you anyway." She smiled at me and tapped the empty space next to me.

Filling the spot, I stared out into the now dark driveway.

"Is it back?"

My gaze moved to April, her sudden sternness startling me. I didn't respond. What was going on that she was so blunt? If she was talking about my anxiety, of course it is.

"Kota, is your anxiety back?" She said softer.

I nodded. "With Kaia around, I'm scared."

"Why are you afraid?"

"It's not normal being attacked as often as I've been these past few months and with the possibility of the Heads trying to find us." I answered. "That's why."

April took my hands. "Sweetheart, you don't have to be afraid. You have us, the turtles-"

"And when you all aren't around?"

April bit her tongue. "You know you've never been normal, but being different doesn't have to mean being in danger constantly or not." Letting go of my hand, she continued. "Or is there something else?"

I shook my head.

"Really?"

I nodded.

"Oh now you're lying to me." April teased and laughed.

I blushed. "I'm not lying."

"I think you have some eyes for someone."

"I do not!"

"Oh my god, you so do!" April laughed loudly.

I crossed my arms.

"Leo maybe?"

If my face wasn't red before, it is now. "Were you listening to my conversation?"

"No, but I do know it's just you and Leo in the house alone."

She nudged me. "So?"

I sighed. So much for putting it all on the back burner.

"Did you tell him?"

"Tell him what?" I refused to look at her.

"How you feel?"

"You know me, April." A sad smile on my face. "Do you think he'd be interested, truly interested, in me? I'm not right."

"Dakota, everything that has happened to you changed you. You're not a scared little girl anymore and you are worthy of anyone's affection. Let me tell you, I know every person you've come in contact with wanted to get to know you better. Any man or turtle would love to make you their partner." April was rubbing circles into my arm as she pulled me to her.

"Thank you." I hugged her back. "And no I haven't because tomorrow is your day. I will not start something until I know tomorrow is going to be perfect."

"You deserve to be happy too, Dakota." April became even more sincere.

"I am happy." I smiled. "I'm just overthinking things, but I'll be okay."

April tapped my knee and stood. "Don't worry about me. My day it already perfect with all of my family and friends coming to my wedding. The only thing I wish for is your happiness."

"But I a–"

"I want you to talk to him." April started to head back into the house. "You'll thank me later for it."

I shook my head humorously. "Thanks April."

After the door shut, I just stared out into the growing darkness. The dark was my happy place most of the time. In the dark, no one could see you, therefore, no one could judge you. It was safe to be who I want to be. A place where my anxiety and depression wouldn't bother me. I know that's impossible. A heavy sigh left me as I busied myself with looking over the barn, where the ceremony was taking place. So I inserted myself into the task of making sure all of the chairs were exactly in line with the other. It wasn't that bad since there were only fifty chairs, and I could sort my thoughts and put them back in the box of the back of my mind. There wasn't even a reason to fret about it anyway, therefore no use in wasting energy on it.

After I was content with how the chairs looked, I returned to the house. The sun was starting to come up, I was out there all night! Inside, Mikey was with Kaia in the kitchen making breakfast. She was at the table looking towards the oven with immense curiosity. Once I shut the door, she quickly turned to see who entered. She gave me a small wave and went back to watching Mikey.

"Mornin' Kota!" Mikey shouted back to me as I sat next to Kai.

"Good morning." I answered. "So how long were you boys out last night?"

"You know our usual." He shrugged.

I rested my chin on my hands. "What's the usual?"

Mikey let out a nervous chuckle. "4 am."

I shook my head. "A lot of coffee will be in order to have them help us finish up all the decorating today."

He nodded. "Except for me!"

"Mikey, in the short time I've known you, I've come to realize that no matter what you have an infinite amount of energy." I started to make the coffee for when we had to wake all the guys up.

"You're going to wake them right?" Mikey asked.

"I mean sure." I shrugged. "If Raph frightens you that much."

"Hey! He doesn't scare me!" Mikey pointed the spatula at me before crossing his arms. "I just like when my face isn't in pain."

I giggled at him.

"It's not funny." He whined.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." I put my hands up as the coffee finished.

"No sweat, dudette, you know I can't stay mad at you." Mikey returned to his chipper self. "Mind waking everyone up?"

I shook my head. "Let me just grab a cup of coffee for me and Don."

WIth the mug in my hands, I made my way upstairs. Of course, Leo was already up and nodded a 'good morning' to me before descending the stairs. I felt my cheeks heat up and butterflies suddenly came out of hiding in my stomach. 'Get a hold of yourself!' I shouted at myself and took a breath to reduce the color from my face. Once I was sure the color was gone, I over to Donnie to wake him. He was on his side facing away from me.

"Donnie, Mikey has breakfast on the table." I nudged his shoulder.

He groaned and inhaled deeply. "Hm?"

I set his coffee down next to him. "Your coffee is by your bed. Breakfast is ready."

Moving to Raph, who was oddly lying on his back, I carefully woke him.

"Raph, Mikey made breakfast, better get up before he eats all of the bacon." I waited a second before, gently shaking him.

He grumbled and turned to his his away from me. Donnie was getting up out of bed and took the mug.

"Thanks." Donnie lifted the mug slightly then smiled as he motioned to Raph. "Good luck."

"Raph!" I called a little louder. "Wake up."

He swatted at me.

I frowned and grabbed his left arm and attempted to pull him up to a sitting position. Luckily, he didn't fight me, but the look he gave me was deadly. I let go and smiled sheepishly.

"Morning, uh, um, breakfast is ready." I quickly said before scurrying like a child down the stairs and joined everyone at the table.

Almost 45 minutes later, everyone was gathered for breakfast. We all ate in silence for awhile, but then I had to ask.

"Anything on the Heads?"

Leo shook his head. "We searched the woods all night. They're gone."

"Are you sure?" Kaia asked.

"We're sure, Tiny." Mikey smiled.

"Good!" She shouted, but then lowered her voice. "I didn't like them."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The wedding was tomorrow and everyone was double-checking and triple-checking everything. Me and Kaia went back home to take care of Gatsby, since he was left alone for a few days other than Casey coming over to feed him. I was going to tackle trying to get Gatsby back to somewhat calm and not a jerk. First we did a ton of lunging. He got all of his goofiness out during out lunging session and was ready to ride. Bringing him back to the stables, I bridled him up before leading him back to the pasture. Kaia stayed on the porch and watched while I rode around. I made sure to keep an eye on the little girl as I galloped past her. She squealed with glee and clapped her hands together.

"Faster!" She shouted towards me.

I complied to her wishes and pushed Gats faster. Laughter and glee surrounded the recovering girl, but stopped, suddenly disinterested. I slowly brought Gatsby back to a walk and started his cool-down. Now, Gatsby is a special horse and needs a full body stretch session after most rides. After walking around some more, I started with his neck and made my way back. He loved when we had a good ride and stretched. Gats knew he would get a nice hose down and a bit to graze.

After stretching his leg, I let his foot return to the ground and led him to the hose station. Kaia loved to hose Gatsby, but she wasn't very good at aiming. Therefore, this will end with three drenched beings. I prepared myself for the upcoming attack as I tossed Gatsby's lead rope onto the ground. Before anyone freaks out about the possibility of him stepping on said lead rope, when Gats is being hosed he doesn't move. Well other than his head, he's still as a statue. With the water now on, I have accepted my fate as I helped Kaia hose my horse. She would squeal in delight as Gatsby would drink from the hose and spray us both. I laughed as she did. It wasn't long before Kai felt as if she got every spot on Gats so she wandered off to lay in the grass. I got the spots she missed, aka everything above his legs, and let him loose in his enclosure to graze. Then I tossed myself besides Kaia.

"Kota?"

"Hm?" My eyes were shut as I took in the rays.

"Are April, Casey, Mikey, Donnie, Raph, and Leo family," her voice changed to something very timid, "like back at the bad place?"

"No." I snapped, but quickly repeated myself calmly. "No, Kaia, do you remember the stories the older kids would tell? About the golden families?"

She nodded. "Kinda."

"Well, those families, like you know are very very nice and caring. They love every single member of the family, and will do anything for them. That family makes sure you're safe, warm, and healthy."

"Like April and Casey?" Kaia asked.

I smiled. "Like Casey and April."

"Do you think April will want to be my mommy?"

I turned to look at Kai, surprised by the question. "You want her to adopt you?"

She shrugged. "I want her to be my family like in the stories."

I pulled her into a hug. "That's just something we'll have to ask her."

"Can we?" Kaia started to pull me to my feet. "I wanna go ask her."

I smiled at her eagerness and we walked back to the house. Despite being attacked in these woods, I still love walking the twisting trails. I've walked them plenty times before without any confrontations, and the turtles were close so there wasn't a worry in my mind. Kaia skipped over tree vines and imaginary obstacles. It was comforting knowing she's settled in and still wants a family. Despite everything, she still trusts people. If that is true, then I accomplished what I had planned for her. This enables her to accept a new family and so they can make her happy. She can have a normal life, or as normal as Casey and April's life could be.

"You think she'll say yes?" Kaia asked.

"Only one way to find out." I smiled at her.

Kaia ran ahead of me and ran into Mikey. She squealed as he lifted her and spun her into a circle.

"Mikey!" She laughed. "Put me down! I have to ask April something very very important!"

"What could be more important than having a fun game of tag with me?" Mikey laughed as she struggled. "Besides, April is getting ready for today."

Mikey let her down and ruffled her hair. I looked at my watch, and it was only a few hours until the wedding. We all had to get ready.

"And Casey?" She begged.

"Kaia, he getting ready too, but you know what you can do?" I sat down to her height, and she scurried up to me.

"What? What can I do?" Her little legs curled up as she got ready to jump.

"You can go greet the guest as they show up, after we get you ready." I put my hand out.

"Hey Kota, don't worry about Tiny here." Kaia grumpily crossed her arms when Mikey called her Tiny. "I'll get her all ready."

"Thanks, Mikey." I hurried inside to take a shower and get dressed.

I took a quick shower and started working on my hair. After taking 20 minutes to get it dried, I spent another hour trying to get my hair to curl. I'm nowhere near experienced with makeup, so I settled with simple mascara and lipstick. Next was the dress. Leaving the bathroom, I gathered my things and headed to April and Casey's to get dressed. Casey left his truck for me, so I hopped in and drove myself over. I gotta see if April has some time to help me get my makeup fixed up. Kaia met me at the door in her extremely fluffy dress. She looked like an adorable round blue marshmallow.

"Well, look how beautiful you look!"

She smiled up at me with Mikey standing proudly behind her in a suit and bowie.

"Mikey, you're looking dapper." I grinned at him.

He blushed and waved me off. "Oh stop now."

I laughed. "Well, I'm gonna finish getting ready and I'll meet you all by the barn."

Kaia gave me a thumbs up as we parted. I then made my way upstairs into what April has labeled as the dressing room. Before I entered, I knocked on the door and entered. My dress was hanging up by the full size mirror. It was a simple dress, blue, open back, form-fitted, and long. The dress was matched with a pair of wedge white sandals. Carefully, I slipped the dress on and tried desperately to not mess up my makeup. Probably should've put that one last. Somehow, I got the dress on without causing any havoc to my makeup. After looking in the mirror and smoothing out my dress, I slipped the wedges on.

"Oh sorry!"

I spun around and saw Leo, face red, obviously embarrassed. He was in his suit, but was missing his tie. The top two buttons were undone. I quickly pulled my gaze away.

"Y-you're fine. I was just about done here." I tucked my hair behind my ears.

"Um, have you, uh, seen a blue tie in here?" Leo asked, his eyes were all averted from me.

I glanced around the room and we both spotted it at the same time. He was quicker and put the tie around his neck. Leo stood in front of the mirror and struggled to get the tie perfect.

He sighed. "I gotta go look for Raph."

"I can help you if you want." I stood in front of him and tried to focus on his tie.

I smoothed out his tie and made sure it was even then got to work tying. The entire time, I could feel his eyes glancing at me. After it was tied, I smoothed out the tie and his suit around the tie. Feeling slightly awkward I let him tighten it and center it how he wanted it.

"Thanks." He smiled.

"Yeah don't uh mention it." I returned the smile before I turned to leave.

"Dakota," Leo called out to me.

I stopped and looked at him. "Whatcha need?"

He looked at me sincerely. "You look beautiful."

I blushed, nodded my thanks and went to find Kaia. She was still with Mikey greeting the guests with Donnie. Instead of joining them, I made my way towards April. Going back inside, I tried my hardest to not run into Leo again and found April struggling to put on her veil. I rushed over.

"Let me help you with that." I gingerly tossed the veil over her shoulders and set it into place. "There, wasn't that a lot easier?"

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Kota."

As she admired herself in the mirror, she smoothed out her gown. Her face was scrunched with worry.

"April, there's nothing to be worried about." I tried to comfort her.

"Oh, I'm not really that worried." She gave me a small smile and took a breath. "Actually Casey and I had some news."

"That would be…?" I urged her forward.

"You'll have to wait like the rest of us." Raph walked in. "Time to go."

We followed Raph to the barn so the ceremony could start. Well all took our seats as the ceremony music commenced. Casey was standing by the "priest", who was an alien robot. Yeah I was a little taken back by that, but he's a friend of April and Casey. Therefore, the robo was okay with me.

I was sitting next to Kaia, whose face was lit with joy. She was so happy for the new couple and was excited to ask them her important question. Me? I couldn't keep my eyes off of Leonardo. He made that suit look amazing, and it hugged him in all the right plac–My face burned when my eyes met his. I knew I looked like cherry especially since, by the look on his face, he saw me checking him out. Shaking my hair to cover my face slightly, I then turned to look at April and Casey. They just finished their vows.

"You may kiss the br–"

"First," April interrupted. "We have an announcement."

"Actually, two." Casey added. "Most of you don't know, but we had a new member of our family join us from a not so good place. She was badly hurt and I know she must've been very scared. The orphanage she was at was burned to the ground. There were only two survivors."

"We wanted to take this time to say to you that we will be adopting those two. Only one of them is here today. The other child was recently found by a search team and is in recovery." April looked directly at me and Kaia.

"So, we're asking, Kaia, would you be happy if we adopted you?" Casey finally asked.

I looked over to see Kaia in then launched herself from her chair and threw herself in Casey and April's arms. The crowd cheered and the trio embraced. I was excited to hear about the other child. Did I know them? Were they Kaia's age? How badly were they hurt?


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Sorry about the scattered updates. Xp I'm gonna work on getting on a schedule.**

Chapter 9

After the wedding, April, Kaia, and Casey had left to pick up their newcomer. The rest of us got started cleaning the place. There were plastic cups everywhere! The turtles and I already had three bags full and that was just inside the barn. I couldn't stop the questions from flooding my mind of this new survivor. Where did they find them? Who were they? Who found them? What if it was the Heads? They could have surrendered the child to get closer to Kaia! I shook my head. No, there weren't any survivors. Tying my trash bag close, I grabbed another and moved to the other side of the barn away from Leo. We haven't spoken about the tension between us. There's a side of me that wants to run up to him and kiss him, but then another part of me wants to leave it be. After all, they'll be leaving for the city soon. A wave of sadness hit me at the thought. Admitting the truth to myself was nearly impossible. Our situation wasn't anywhere close to ideal. Not only was the species thing a major one, mostly likely he wouldn't be interested in seeing any sort of future with me. A long sigh left me.

"You ok?" Donnie asked as he picked up a cup.

My eyes snapped to him, and shrugged. "I'm just curious about this survivor."

He nodded sensing I had more to say.

I set my bag down so I could talk with my hands. "I mean, do you think we'll get some answers about the orphanage?"

Donnie's eyes kind of followed my hands as they swung. "There's a small possibility. If there was a way to find out who brought the child in. There may be a way to see if they were involved in the orphanage's operation."

I lowered my eyes, thinking. Donnie put his hand on my shoulder. "Don't stress about it. We should just be happy that there was another survivor. Let us worry about the investigation part of it."

"You guys have been investigating?" I asked the purple masked turtle. "Like since after the fire?"

He nodded. "Yeah we've been patrolling the area to see if there were any lingerers and if so, see what they want."

"Have you seen anyone?"

He shook his head. "That's what puzzling about this new kid."

"Hey gossip twins! This trash ain't gonna clean itself!" Raphael called from outside.

I picked up my bag and thanked Donnie for the chat before joining Raph outside. He stayed close to me, but didn't say anything. That seems to be how our relationship was. Raph kind of became my overprotective older brother, the kind of silent and brooding brother. I didn't mind when he did this, just because I'm the kind of person that is usually content in silence.

"You doing ok?"

I was startled that he spoke. "Um, yeah, excited about the new kid."

"I get that." He nodded.

He was quiet again before speaking again. "Be patient with Leo."

My face turned red.

"I know you got a thing for him." Raph smirked at my embarrassment. "That kind of thing is a rarity for us, so we ain't got much a clue about what to do. Just keep in mind, we'll have to go back to the city soon and trips here aren't frequent."

I built the courage to look up. "I know. I'm not sure what to do either." I shrugged. "I'm in the same boat. There really hasn't been anyone come through my life in that sense."

Raph crossed his arms. "You know the best way of handling this?"

"What?"

"You two gotta talk." Raph nodded and walked away.

Why does it feel like they're putting together an intervention? First Donnie talking to me about this new kid and then Raph talking about Leo. It can't be a coincidence that they both confronted me about my issues. Then again I do sometimes wear my heart on my sleeve. I've never really been that great at hiding my feelings especially with April and Casey. I was usually a quiet person, but somehow they saw past the silence on my bad days and know I was down.

"Mikey, you about done over there!" Leo called the the youngest.

Mikey shot up a thumbs up and jogged over to us. "Looks like you guys are all done here."

We all nodded, relieved.

"When does April and Casey come back?" Mikey asked.

"They should be back for lunch." Donnie answered.

"Well, Mikey would you like to join me in preparing some food?" I asked Mikey cheerily.

He swung his arm around my shoulders and dragged me inside. Mikey swiftly paraded around the kitchen collecting ingredients for his "awesome" lunch. Since this is his domain, so I stepped back and let him instruct me on where to go and where to help. With Mikey's permission, I got started on preparing a salad. I gathered some cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, etc and started preparing everything. Running the ingredients under the sink Mikey turned on some music and started to dance while he prepared some sandwiches.

"You two need help in here?" Leo came walking into the kitchen.

My hair fell into my face as I tried to avoid his eye contact. Unfortunately, it didn't go unnoticed.

Mikey smirked. "Looks like Dakota needs some help with the salad."

"Uh, I think–"

"Sounds good." Leo took the tomatoes and started chopping.

Thud. Thud. Thud. I listened as his knife hit the cutting board over and over. My mind wandered and imagined staring at the muscles in his arm contracting and moving under his forest green skin. My heart started to slam into my chest as I quickly finished chopping and put the ingredients in a large bowl.

"Mikey, what else for your extravagant meal?" I nudged him with my elbow, slowing my heart.

"Does Kaia like no crust on her sandwiches?" Mikey asked.

"No, she doesn't" I started cutting away the crust off on the sandwiches Mikey set aside.

"I don't think anyone wants to be around if Kaia gets a sandwich with 'evil' crust." Leo snickered.

We all laughed at Leo's impression of Kaia.

"So when do you think they'll be back?" Mikey asked.

"Guys, we're back!" Casey shouted.

"Casey, not too loud!" Kaia shushed him.

I rushed around the corner to see April walking in with a small infant in her arms. A smile stretched across my face.

"Guys, I'd like to introduce Logan." April announced.

"April, he's adorable." I gasped.

"He's a tough guy too." She smiled.

"Where'd they find him?" Leo asked.

"About a mile from where the fire was in a basket." Casey answered.

"We called out for survivors, no one answered." Leo explained looking disappointed that he missed this little boy.

"He's deaf. So if he didn't see you he wouldn't have known you were there. Therefore he wouldn't have cried." April explained. "The doctor's said he might've lost hearing at his time at the orphanage because he had extreme injuries to his ears."

"Oh poor thing." I frowned and noticed that Kaia went to go play in her room. "How old?"

"About one and a half years." April smiled.

"May I?" I put my arms out and she settled him into them. Logan was fast asleep with his mouth slightly open.

"Looks like we know who'll be babysitting." April smiled.

"Well, I'll let you get him settled in." I passed Logan back to April. "I'm gonna go take care of Gatsby. He hasn't been out today."

Leo's POV

Dakota passed the child back to April. "I'm gonna go take care of Gatsby. He hasn't been out today."

As she left Raphael came up to me. "You need to talk to her."

I kept my face stoic. "What about?"

He practically rolled his eyes at me. "It's obvious what's going on between you two."

Has he spoken to Kota about this? I gave him a questioning look. Does he know how Kota feels about me? Immediately, I tossed the possibility of that out the window. There was no way it would work. I have the team to look after, I can't stay here, and she can't leave. This is saying that she does have feelings for me, but I can't let her indulge in the idea. No matter how badly it may hurt. This will not ever work.

"There's nothing going on, Raph." I finally said.

"You know she really likes you." Raph tried again.

"I can't."

He sighed. "At least tell her that. You know, just so she knows she can't wait for you."

I nodded.

"It's only fair."

Raphael patted my shoulder and walked off.

Dakota's POV

"Hey, mind if I join you?" Leo asked as I put on my boots.

"Um, I mean I'll be back soon. I won't be long I want to talk to April a bit." My heart raced as I stood straight up and tried to keep my face from turning red.

"We actually need to talk." He was standing strong, unwavering.

I brushed my hair over my ear and nodded sheepishly. What did he want to talk about? Did I do something wrong? I kept my head low as we walked out of the house and towards the forest. He was walking so close to me I could almost feel his shoulder brush against mine. We walked in silence for a bit before I heard him clear his throat and sigh.

"So, uh, we need to talk about something. It's important." Leo started.

I nodded. "What about?"

"Nothing can happen between us."

I stopped walking for a moment.

"We're going to be leaving soon and we won't be back in the foreseeable future." Leo stopped walking. "I know you have feelings for me and I'm flattered, but I have more important things right now."

My heart stopped as I tried to keep a poker face. "I, um, I understand."

So I'm not important. At all?

"I have a team to look after and I have no room for another person to take care of." He resaid.

My eyes burned. "I get it." There was a moment. "So, you have feelings for me too?"

Leo's eyes snapped to mine. His opened as if to answer, but he didn't.

"I'm sorry." I shook my head and wrapped my arms around myself. "I shouldn't have asked."

He looked away with his jaw clenched. "I feel nothing for you."

Tears filled my eyes as he returned to the house as I stood where I was frozen, broken, and forgotten. I didn't know what to do, but before I knew it, I was walking to my house in a cloudy daze. My heart throbbing painfully in my chest. Leonardo's words echoing in my head. I didn't even notice that I showed up to my place. It felt like I wasn't in my body anymore as I watched myself take care of Gatsby and shuffled into the house. I picked my phone up and called April.

"Hey, I'm, uh, I'm gonna stay at my house for tonight."

' _Are you okay?'_

My lip trembled. "Y-yeah, I-I just think that I n-need to s-spend a few days with Gatsby."

' _Honey, what's the matter?'_

I couldn't stop myself. Without hesitation, I told her everything. I cried to her until my voice was hoarse from my heart breaking. April tried to talk me through Leonardo's rejection. She agreed that he was incredibly rude, and offered to come over. I turned her offer down and decided to put all of my energy into Gatsby and my paintings. I had recently put up my artwork on an art site and got a few customers. So I have to get that all sent out. At least that's what I told April on the phone.

' _If you need anything, don't hesitate to call. Okay, Kota. You're family.'_

"That means a lot, April." We then hung up.


End file.
